A History of the 1641 Rebellion in Ireland

By the seventeenth century the traditional divide				Ireland to subdue any Catholic force that was
between the Gaelic Irish and Old English was				being raised there. Catholics in Ireland decided to
declining; they had assimilated with one another				pre-empt this and concocted a plan to seize Dublin
and they were united by their shared religion,				Castle and towns throughout the country in the
Catholicism. In addition, they were allied together				name of the King. If they had succeeded they
in the face of the huge influx of Protestant English				may very well have found themselves in a
and Scottish settlers during the Plantations who				position to dictate terms to the king and
were threatening the political position of the				parliament. However, an informer blabbed about
wealthier Irish Catholics.				the plans to take the Castle and it never took
The vast majority of this group were not				place. But the local risings in Ulster went according
opposed to the supremacy of Charles I but they				to plan under the leadership of Phelim O'Neill. At
wished to be full subjects and maintain their				first they met with only minor resistance, they
pre-eminent position in Irish society. The failed				occupied most of Ulster and them marched south
Gunpowder plot severely curtailed their rights and				into Leinster. They were joined by the Old English
privileges. However there were stumbling blocks				and the combined forces, calling themselves the
to achieving this that lay in their religious affiliation				'Catholic Army', laid siege to Drogheda.
and the extension of the Plantations. In 1638,				The movement spread throughout the country
many Scots revolted in what were known as the				throughout 1642 and success seemed imminent.
Bishops' Wars against Charles I's attempts to				However, reinforcements began to arrive from
impose Church of England prayers in Scotland.				England and the 'Catholic Army' was pushed back
Charles turned to the Irish gentry to raise an				into Ulster, many were anxious to sue for peace,
army to put down the rebellion, he promised				but the English administration were not interested,
them the concession of allowing them to practice				they sought to subdue Ireland once and for all.
their religion openly. To the Scots and English				However, a quick defeat of the rebels in Ireland
Parliaments, this appeared to confirm that Charles				was prevented by the outbreak of Civil War in
was a tyrant who wanted to impose Catholicism				Ireland, English troops were withdrawn from
on his kingdoms.				Ireland and a general stalemate ensued.
In early 1641, Scots and English proposed invading